Ultimate Tango Confidence Building Blocks
How to make the most of social distancing times to improve your tango technique and be confident when we start dancing socially again - even if you don't have a partner to practice with.
Imagine how it will feel like when you become a confident, in-demand tango dancer. Imagine going out to tango nights and knowing that you will dance all night long, sharing wonderful tandas with some of your favorite partners.
Not only will you get to meet new people in a unique, meaningful and connected way, but you will also lead a more artistic and fulfilled life, with a passion and skill to create beauty outside of work.
You’re likely to feel less lonely, and less bored of the old routine. You’ll be able to proudly enjoy the fact that you can go to any milonga and express the music with any tango dancer you meet.
Can you even imagine that?
We know... that’s next level cool :)
By becoming a confident tango dancer, you become a more passionate, confident person, and you can express the artistic yearnings that are laying inside of your heart, waiting to bloom.
If that sounds like something for you, then this course will get you started on this journey.
Why this course
In this free mini-course, we will guide you through the 3 Tango Confidence Building Blocks.
Look, we’ve been in your shoes: we know that tango is challenging at first.
If you are thinking too much when you are dancing, are worried about not understanding your partner well, or are not sure how to be in the flow of the music when you improvise, it is completely normal.
Every dancer goes through this.
Once you have improved on the 3 Tango Confidence Building Blocks, you will see a change in your dancing.
Your embrace will be more relaxed and more comfortable. You will be more grounded when dancing, which will help you connect better with your partner, take more risks and be more creative. And you’ll know how to always stay connected to your partner, even when the dancing becomes more creative or complex.
How to use this course
Each video-lesson revolves around one of the 3 tango Confidence Building Block. For Block #2 and #3, we give you exercises to practice at home. For all blocks, we invite you to look at how we are using it in our dancing.
We know most of you don’t have a partner. To help you really understand and practice the 3 Tango Confidence Building Blocks, we are giving you exercises that you can do at-home, without a partner.
A word on individual at-home practice:
We can’t say it enough. This is the key that will take your dancing to the next level. Yes, tango is all about feeling and connection, but you can’t connect with your partner if you don’t connect with yourself first.
Think about it: how can you dance a movement with someone, let alone beautifully, musically, creatively… if you can’t dance it on your own?
With over 25 years of teaching experience, we have taught thousands of students and have seen it countless times: if you want to be a good dancer, one that people love dancing with, individual training is what moves the needle forward.
How to practice at home:
- Regularity is key to building muscle memory: it is more efficient to practice just a few minutes every day that one hour one weekend, then do nothing for the next couple of weeks.
- To make it manageable, take it slow: pick from the individual exercises we give you here, put on just one tango song per day and practice for a mere 3 minutes.
Tango Confidence Building Block 1: Posture & Embrace
Tango is all about fun, of course, but also about making sure our partners have a great time when they are dancing in our arms. In order for them to feel comfortable, we need to think about two important elements: our posture and our embrace.
We often see in classes that our student’s embrace changes during the dance. When they start dancing, the embrace is great but then loses its “shape” as the dance unfolds.
Yet, there are some key elements to remember to make sure your embrace is comfortable for yourself and your partner throughout the dance.
Remember: even when the dance becomes more creative and complex, the embrace is our priority.
In this video lesson:
- We show you, step-by-step, how to keep a comfortable embrace during the dance
- We invite you to watch how we apply those principles in our dancing
Click on the video to watch
Tango Confidence Building Block 2: Balance
Balance is incredibly important in tango: it helps us be more powerful and willing to take risks, and also to have better connection.
As we always say to our students: you can’t connect with your partner if you can’t connect with yourself first.
It is important to know how to do the movements on your own, with great balance, so that you feel comfortable dancing them with someone in your arms. Indeed, how can you dance the tango movements beautifully, artistically, musically… if you can’t even do them on your own?!?
We practice our balance with individual exercises, so that when we step on the dancefloor, all we have to do is focus on connecting with our partners and the music :)
In this video lesson:
- We explain why balance is so important for the most important tango skill: connection
- We give you 2 exercises to work on your balance at-home individually
- We invite you to watch how we are always going back into our posture to stay balanced and on-axis when we are dancing
Click on the video to watch
Tango Confidence Building Block 3: Dissociation
Dissociation is a key element of tango dancing: it helps us be more connected with our partner, and also be more precise in our own dancing.
Often dissociation is misunderstood, and when used incorrectly, tends to throw the dancer off balance.
Yet, when you use it correctly, it gives you power and precision in your dancing. It also creates the mesmerizing spiralling movement that makes tango so beautiful to watch (and so good to dance).
In this video lesson:
- We show you what correct dissociation technique is
- We give you practice exercises, so you can make the movements come from an organic part of your body
- Then, we invite you to look at how we are always using dissociation to stay connected with each other when we dance
Make sure you understand what dissociation is, then practice it at home so you build it into your muscle memory.
Click on the video to watch.
